ACEP Coaching Certification

The American Sports Education Program (ASEP), formerly the American Coaching Effectiveness Program (ACEP), works with more than 40 state high school athletic associations and hundreds of sports associations, such as USA Track and Field, to certify coaches, officials and administrators. These certifications include education on coaching principles, first aid, sports science, sports medicine and management.

  1. History

    • ASEP has been teaching courses to certify instructors since 1981. Rainer Martens founded American Coaching Effectiveness Program (ACEP) in 1976 to improve amateur sports in the U.S. through improving the education of coaches. Martens, a professor at the University of Illinois, expanded his program to better educate officials, administrators, coaches, parents and athletes. The organization would later change its name to ASEP, but the original ACEP acronym is still connected with the organization.

    Courses

    • ASEP course catalog describes courses for full-time and volunteer coaches. Individual organizations, such as high school athletic associations, will offer courses as well. ASEP also has online courses that are self-paced. Those courses include a study guide, PDF downloads, videocassettes or CDs. The online courses can be particularly helpful to volunteer coaches who have other full-time jobs.

    Bronze Level Certification

    • While organizations may use ASEP classes to give certifications within its groups, ASEP itself only grants what is called Bronze Level certification. Coaches must complete four required classes for the Bronze Level certification: Coaching Principles, Sport First Aid, Coaching Sport Technical and Tactical Skills, and CPR. When a coach completes those courses, he receives certification and his name goes on the ASEP national registry.

    Other Courses for Certification

    • There are more than 500 partner organizations that recommend or require various ASEP courses. These include youth sport programs, recreation departments, national youth sports such as Little League Baseball, junior high schools, faith-based sport teams, YMCA and Boys and Girls Clubs. ASEP provides courses for baseball, basketball, football, soccer, softball, tennis, volleyball, wrestling, ice hockey, lacrosse and cricket.

    Where to Begin

    • If you would like to coach and need certification, start at your city's parks and recreation department, a local YMCA or any youth organization. Ask for information on that organization's sports certification requirements as well as ASEP-required courses. Local public schools with athletic departments would also be a good source of information, especially if you want to pursue coaching beyond the volunteer basis.